Pole setting device



Dec. 6, 1933. M N D 'EW 2,138,842

POLE SETTING DEVI CE Filed March 27, 1937 1142701251] .ZVL" .UPEW

Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oral-es Application March 2'7,

3- Claims.

This invention relates to vehicular pole-setting apparatus designed for the erection oftelephone poles, etc.

One of the objects of the invention is to prorvide means on a vehicle upon which the topportion of a pole is placed while the foot of the pole is at the pole hole, said means constituting a point of power application shifting as the vehicle is moved in the direction of the pole hole for gradually raising the pole from a substantially prone to an erect position, in which latter position it will slide into the pole hole.

Another object of the invention is toprovide in combination with a truck or like vehicle, a

:rotatable drum suitably positioned near the front or rear end of the truck, having a peripheral polereceiving channel adjustable in width for poles of different diameter, for receiving the pole, retaining it, and rolling along it from the top to the bottom as the truck is moved longitudinally of the pole toward the pole hole.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds. I

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification and throughout the several figures of which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure l is a perspective View showing the apparatus of the invention in operation;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is a top plane view partly in section; and

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary side view showing the apparatus mounted at the rear of the truck.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral I represents the chassis side members of the truck, of which there are two, one on each side. Standards 2 are rigidly secured to the chasis members as at 3 and suitably supported by means of the braces 4. The standards 2 are of such length as to extend an appreciable distance from the ground and are provided at their upper ends with bifurcations 5 and 6 forming U-shap'ed recesses l which align horizontally. A shaft 8 is rotatably mounted in said recesses preferably extending a short distance beyond the standards on the outside thereof where it is provided with the collars 9 and H) which by means such as the set screws I I are fixed to the shaft 8 and prevent its slipping endwise.

A drum which in general is designated by the reference character I2 is mounted on the shaft 8, said drum comprising a pair of frusto-conical 1937, Serial "No. 133,479

spools l3- and M- having their smaller faces and 16 adjacent so that the spools form between them a peripheral pole-receiving V-shaped channel IT. The spools are provided with hubs [-8 and I9 carrying fixing means such as set screws-2B by means of which-the spools can be fixed with respect'to the shaft so-asto rotate together and with said shaft. The-spools are slidably adjustable relative to one another andalong said shaft. By loosening the set screwsthe'spools may bemoved closer to or farther away from one another and thus vary'thewi'dth of the peripheral channel soas to accommodate it to poles of different diameter. The spools'may then be fixed in any desired'position of adjustment by means of the set screws.

The sliding relationship of the spools toward the shaft 8 permits both spools to be moved either to one or the other side of the center, if desired. This enables the truck to be moved close to and parallel to the side of a building for example, in erecting a pole close to a building which could not be done if the pole had to be lined up with the longitudinal middle of the truck.

The conical faces of the spools l3 and M are provided with sharp edged teeth 2! whose object is to bite into the pole preventing it from slipping to one side or the other as might otherwise happen due to the engagement of the drum with knots or other irregularities on the pole. may sometimes happen that the engagement of the drum with a knot or other excrescence on the pole may tend to cause the shaft 8 to jump out of the recesses 1. To prevent this, the ends of the bifurcations may be perforated and receive the bolts 22 and 23.

The operation of the pole-setting apparatus is clearly shown in Figure l. The hole is prepared by providing a shallow horizontal ditch 24 beneath the foot of the pole and placing a board 25 in the hole opposite the foot of the pole. The truck is placed at such distance from the pole that the top end of the pole may be lifted into the peripheral channel H. The truck is then driven in the direction toward the hole, the pole gradually rising toward the vertical. The board 25 prevents the foot of the pole from digging in or catching against the vertical wall of the pole hole.

It will be observed from the several figures that the drum I2 is placed substantially vertical over the end of the vehicle so that the approach of the vehicle to the pole will not prevent the pole from being moved to a vertical position. When the pole has reached the vertical position it drops into the hole.

That form of the invention shown in Figure 1 in which the pole-setting device is mounted toward the front end of the truck permits it to be used in connection with a covered bodied truck. However the invention is equally applicable to be mounted at the rear end of an open bodied truck as shown in Figure 4 in which the standards 2 are mounted directly upon the truck body and not necessarily upon the frame of the chassis.

The operation of the apparatus shown in Figure 4 is similar to that shown in Figure 1 ex cepting that the truck is backed toward the pole in the act of lifting the latter.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of my invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts as illustrated and described are by way of illustration and not to be construed as unduly limiting the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a vehicle, a pair of standards mounted at opposite sides of said vehicle terminating at a substantially high level above the ground in open bifurcated ends forming shaft bearings, a demountable pole setting device comprising a shaft adapted to be removably set in said bearings, means adjacent the ends of said shaft to limit its endwise movement in said bearings, a channeled roller on said shaft occupying only a portion of the length of said shaft, and means for fixing said roller in any position of adjustment longitudinally of said shaft.

2. In a vehicle, a pair of standards mounted at opposite sides of said vehicle terminating at a substantially high level above the ground in open bifurcated ends forming shaft bearings, a demountable pole setting device comprising a shaft adapted to be removably set in said bearings, means adjacent the ends of said shaft to limit its endwise movement in said bearings, a roller on said shaft occupying only a portion of the length of said shaft, said roller being composed of two frusto-conical halves with their smaller faces confronting, and means for independently fixing said halves in any longitudinal position of adjustment on said shaft whereby the Width of the roller as well as its longitudinal position relative to said shaft can be varied.

3. In a vehicle, a pair of standards mounted at opposite sides of said vehicle terminating at a substantially high level above the ground, a shaft bridging said standards adjacent to the upper ends and supported thereby, a roller, said roller being composed of two frusto-conical halves with their smaller faces confronting, said halves being independently slidably mounted upon said shaft, the length of the latter between said standards being such as to provide a. substantial range of lateral shift for said roller, and means for independently fixing said halves in longitudinal position of adjustment on said shaft, whereby the width of the roller as well as its longitudinal position on the shaft can be varied.

MITCHELL N. DREW. 

